Mother's Day

I'm not so timely with this post, but Happy Mother's Day to any moms who might be reading this!  What I wanted for Mother's Day was pictures together as a family.  We have a nice, giant frame we received as a gift for teaching the English Corner from the hospital.  It's a picture of James and me superimposed over a grasslands scene and the hospital with a poem.  It's was a nice gesture but not exactly the thing we want hanging over our couch. 

 So, in order to use the frame, I wanted to take some photos we could get printed for the frame.  We took a local friend to take the pictures.  We should have taken another to help get an infant and a toddler to look at the camera at the same time.  We took some ok pictures, but not any great ones.  Here are some of the best for your viewing pleasure.

I don't have the words to express how great being mom to Catherine and Ann is.  Catherine is at a stage where we see her learning to do some many new things everyday.  She LOVES to help with the  laundry, and mostly, it is actually helpful.  If I sort the piles, she loves to carry them from the hallway and fill up the washing machine with the dirty clothes.  Next Mother's Day maybe she'll be able to reach the buttons.  :)

Ann is slowly showing more of her personality.  She is active like her big sister, but seems to love to snuggle much more than Catherine did.  She smiles, giggles, and coos, and no longer stays in one place. 

catching up

Following are some pictures and stories from our life since we've last written.  They can't be filed under any particular topic and appear in no particular order.

Since the weather is much warmer now, we try to take Catherine out as much as possible and let her expend some of her over-abundance of energy.  On a special day we'll go to an indoor play area, a park, shopping, or a friend's house, but mostly we just take her outside the main door of our building and let her play in the yard.  Mostly she likes to go up the stairs, down the ramp, up the ramp, down the stairs, etc, etc, repeat, repeat, repeat.  It's also a good chance for us to chat with our neighbors.  

Our complex is slowly becoming more functional, more beautiful, and more occupied.  With the spring weather they've been working on the landscaping. 

 

 

This is Mike. He lives in our building.  He is really nice to Catherine.  He shares his toys and plays with her.  Our first conversation with Mike was like this (in English):

Mike:  Hello! How are you?
 Jill:  Hi.  I'm good.  How are you?
Mike:  I'm happy. Thank you, and you?
Jill:  I'm doing well.
Mike:  (long pause)
Mike:  What color is it?
Jill:  What color is what?
Mike:  (long pause followed by running away)

This is a classic example of Chinese kids memorizing the English texts from their books but not fully understanding when/how to revise/use  them and/or mixing up which text to use when.  :)  

I do commend Mike for being so nice to Catherine and for studying English well and being brave/confident enough to give it a try.

 

 This is how Ann plays outside.  

This picture was Ann's first play date. This little boys name is Michael.  His mom was one of my coworkers at the hotel when I lived here before.  Her little guy is so happy and such a chunk!  At the time of this photo he was five months old and weighed the same as Catherine (19 or 20 months old!). 

In early May we got to attend a very special wedding.  Our first wedding to attend in China that was held in a church (normally they are held in a restaurant) our first international wedding to attend in China (American bride, Chinese groom) and and the first time for James to have a part in the ceremony.  The couple asked him to pray a blessing over their marriage. (I think he looks so handsome in his new suit!)

The newly-merged family. 

Last weekend we went to one of the big parks in the city with some friends who have a daughter just a couple weeks younger than Catherine.  They are beginning to learn how to play together.  We didn't get to stay at the park long before a very unexpected sandstorm blew in.  We picked up the kids, threw clothing over them as best we could and ran to our friends' car.  I had thankfully just bought a new pairs of sunglasses the day before.  Even so, we were dusty and dirty when we reached the car.

sandstorm as seen from our house

And that's another thing....in the 4-5 years that James and I were back in the States, all of our friends began owning cars.  When I worked at the hotel in 2006-2007 I knew less than a handful of people who owned a car....now the majority of our friends have their own cars.  Being American, I can appreciate their desire to have one, but I don't appreciate the chaotic transportation it has created here. 

the girls

This update is mainly for the grandparents, aunts, and uncles, but maybe some others of you will find it precious, adorable, and lovely too :)

Catherine:
is now 20 months old.  She is FULL of energy.  She rarely stops moving.  She thinks every song should have motions and especially likes, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." In fact touching he head repeatedly is her motion that she wants to listen to songs.  We also have a toy lion/piano thing that plays 8-10 songs.  She thinks all of them should have motions and seems quite disappointed that James and I don't have motions for some of them and there's even one tune we don't know the words too.
She can say about 25-30 words:  some animals, some foods, most of her body parts.  She has said "mama" and "daddy" before but uses them rarely.  :( 
She loves to play tickle and be chased.  She loves to play outside and will take the hand of any random stranger or neighbor to have them walk around our housing complex with her. 
She is a really good big sister.  She can say, "pat, pat" and loves to pat and/or kiss her sister.  She is now beginning to mimic the ways we take care of Ann with her dolls and stuffed animals.  (putting them in the swing, burping them, etc)
She has learned to say "thank you" in Chinese and is stealing the hearts of all Chinese people by blowing them kisses as we leave any establishment.
She nods her head "yes" in response to almost any question asked.  (A very few questions will get a strong, verbal "no!")
She has a lovie we call "pinky."  She can't sleep without it.  Pinky is on the verge of needed to be renamed "brownie."  Since we don't have a dryer, I can hardly get it washed and dried before it's time for another sleep.
She loves dogs, books, and shoes.

Ann:
I think we have finally decided to call her Ann, by the way .  By "we" I mean that James finally joined me :)
She smiles often and has the cutest little smile.
She can hold herself up well and has rolled over, but doesn't do it often.  She LOVES to sit under her little baby gym thing (is that what it's called?) and reach up and pull on the toys.  She can grasp toys and likes to play with things. She always scoots around 90 degrees from whichever direction I put her down. 
She still rarely poops but her discomfort and gas pains seem to be subsiding and we are so thankful.
Everyone here comments on how big her eyes are.   And, she is three months now and her eyes are still blue.  It would mean some serious recessive genes at work if they stay blue, but it IS possible with two blue-eyed grandparents.
She likes people.  She seems to especially like Catherine and smiles when Catherine is near her.  We are just starting to get to know her sweet personality.  We'll keep you posted!

Some things transcend culture

The first time I (James) saw an Angry Birds shirt over here I knew that some things transcend culture.  Of course some things transcend culture and some do not.  Somethings you can find in any part of the world and some are distinctly out of place. For example, Coke can be found in almost every country in the world. Also, some things we try to adopt from another place, but we don't have quite the right context and so it seems really weird to the people from that culture.

Angry Birds - Transcends culture

Big Rooster - Does not transcend culture

People admiring your new vehicle - transcends culture

People admiring your new trike - Does not transcend culture

People saying hello to a stranger - Transcends culture

People asking you how much you make before they know your name - Does not transcend culture


 

-James